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3/2/2015 4:54 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

It didn't take a fashion expert to know Lupita Nyong'o's stolen "pearl" dress was fake -- since Piers Morgan claims he knew it was bogus the second he saw it on Oscar night.

We got Morgan in NYC Monday ... and he says he rubbed elbows with the Oscar winner at the Vanity Fair party, and was close enough to realize the gown was all smoke and mirrors. Watch him explain why it fooled people without his keen eye.

As for the theft of the dress originally believed to be worth over $150K ... well, he only sees one loser in all of this.

We'll hand it to Piers ... his take on the heist is entertaining, but it might be slightly off -- since it turns out Lupita attended the VF bash in a different gown ... a slinky gold number.

3/1/2015 1:00 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Cops are flustered as to how the Lupita Nyong'oOscar dress escaped detection when it was taken from her hotel room, but now we know ... it was thrown off her balcony.

TMZ broke the story ... the surveillance video was unhelpful. The cameras weren't trained on Lupita's door and none of the cameras on the floor showed anything suspicious.

The guy who stole the dress -- who called TMZ Friday with a road map to recovery in The London West Hollywood bathroom -- told us he knew where the cameras were placed in the hallway so he was never seen. As for the dress ... he said he threw it over the balcony and someone on the ground picked it up.

As we reported ... the thief says he took 2 of the pearls off of the dress and went down to the Garment District for appraisal, but found they were worthless fakes. That's when the thief took the dress back to the hotel.

The thief told us he knew Lupita was in the room where they took the dress and waited for the opportunity to enter ... which they did when they found the door was ajar.

By the way ... the thief also says he saw Lupita's Oscar gift bag -- valued at $125,000 which he didn't take. Looks like he chose wrong.

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2/28/2015 1:00 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

It's turning into the greatest Oscar story in years. Lupita Nyong'o's stolen Oscar dress -- which was reportedly worth between $150,000 and $10 MILLION -- appears to be all smoke and mirrors.

TMZ broke the story ... the thief called us Friday afternoon and said he took 2 of the pearls down to the Garment District in L.A. and learned they were fake. That's when he returned the dress to the hotel.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Calvin Klein's people never told them if the pearls were real or fake. We're told the only person who represented the pearls as real and valued the dress at $150K was Lupita's stylist.

A source directly connected with the Women's Creative Director of Calvin Klein, Francisco Costa, put it this way to TMZ, "Did anyone ever say they were real from Calvin Klein? I always assumed everyone knew they were fake, but I guess not."

The source awesomely adds, "Do they really make dresses out of real jewels since Cleopatra died?"

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2/27/2015 3:55 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

Lupita Nyong'o's Oscar gown was returned to The London West Hollywood Friday afternoon where it was taken 2 days earlier ... and the thief called TMZ to tell us where it could be found and added it was a worthless fake.

A guy called us at around 2:30 PM Friday and said he had taken the dress from Lupita's hotel room after he noticed the door was ajar. He said he and others took 2 pearls off of the dress and took them to the garment district in downtown L.A. ... where they were told they weren't real.

The thief says he decided to take the dress back to the London in a garment bag that was inside a trash bag that he deposited in a 2nd floor bathroom adjacent to a fitness center.

We contacted the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. and gave them the info. They went over to the hotel and retrieved the bag and they found a garment bag with the dress inside.

Law enforcement says they were told the Calvin Klein dress was worth $150K, but the thief says it's almost worthless.

The thief told us he returned the bag and called us because he wanted the world to know "Hollywood's fake bulls**t."

2/27/2015 10:40 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

The Disney star was in Hollywood Thursday night, walking arm in arm with her dad (who has locks), when a photog asked if she's still pissed at Giuliana for jumping to conclusions about her follicle choices on the Oscars red carpet.

It's clear Zendaya has buried the hatchet and she're ready to move on -- but also ... pretty interesting to see she's already ditched the very hairstyle that created all the fuss.

In the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Kanye's lawyer says the incidents aren't relevant, but what's really interesting is the admission that Kanye ended up looking bad. The lawyer says the videos would "cause jurors to form a negative opinion of West."

Ramos' lawyer, Gloria Allred, tells TMZ, "It is laughable that Kanye West appears to be so ashamed of his conduct that he doesn't want the jury to know what he did," adding, "Millions watched his conduct. Why does he want to hide it from a jury?"

2/26/2015 7:11 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Lupita Nyong'o's now-famous Oscar dress -- adorned in pearls -- was stolen right out of her hotel room ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the dress was taken out of Lupita's room at The London West Hollywood. The dress is made of pearls ... 6,000 white Akoya pearls. It's valued at $150,000.

Our sources say Lupita told cops it was taken from her room sometime between 8 AM and 9 PM Wednesday ... while she was gone.

We're told there is security footage that cops are looking at that could catch the culprit right in the act.

12:00 PM PT -- Sheriff's deputies were at The London Thursday morning. We know they were in the manager's office and we're told they have looked at security footage to determine if they can ID the culprit.

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2/25/2015 2:43 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Madonna was horse collared and yanked off a riser onto a stage feet below ... all at the hands of a backup dancer.

The singer was performing Wednesday night at the Brit Awards in London, wearing an Armani cape with her back to the audience. The plan was for the backup dancer to dramatically pull the cape off of her as she revealed a sparkly outfit.

But before the pull Madonna was supposed to untie the cape strap around her neck. It was tied too tight and before it could be undone the backup dancer did his thing, pulling Madonna backwards neck first onto the stage.

2/24/2015 2:35 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Kelly Osbourne just dropped an ultimatum on Giuliana Rancic and their "Fashion Police" bosses -- issue a mea culpa for saying Zendaya smells like a hippie pot smoker ... or she'll quit the show.

Kelly is responding to the firestorm Giuliana sparked with a comment about the Disney star's Oscar look -- which included new dreadlocks. Rancic said she thought Zendaya must smell like patchouli oil or weed. Kathy Griffin joined in on the "weed" comment.

Kelly went off on a Twitter rant, saying ... "I'm giving everyone involved 24 hours to make it right or the world will hear how I really feel." She added she doesn't condone racism and is seriously questioning staying on the show.

Osbourne reminded fans she's friends with Zendaya -- who herself blasted Rancic for making such an "outrageously offensive" stereotypical comment.

It sounds like no one involved is buying Giuliana's claim her remarks "had NOTHING to do with race." 4:30 PM PT-- Looks like Kelly has pull ... Giuliana just apologized again -- this time on the air during "E! News."

2/24/2015 8:30 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF

Kanye Westroasted his wife Kim Kardashianfor her legendary love of the black man ... and brought the house down at the BET Honors.

Kanye was accepting the Visionary Award at the ceremony -- which was pre-taped, but aired Monday night -- and talked about how guys in Chicago barbershops talk about black men in entertainment hooking up with white women ... and white women nabbing rich black guys.

You gotta watch for the punch line because he absolutely nails Kim ... and then concludes, "It ain't got nothing to do with the money."

Ye also recalls a story Kim told him ... about her dad, Robert Kardashian, losing it when someone spray painted "ni**er lover" on his car -- and how he used it to teach Kim a lesson about racism.

2/23/2015 2:07 PM PST BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

The Oscars focused more on Neil Patrick Harris' penis than a deceased actor who starred in iconic movies, and the actor's relatives are livid.

Taylor Negron -- who became famous for his roles in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "The Last Boy Scout" -- was left out of the 'In Memoriam' tribute, which infuriated his brother Conrad Negron who said, "They'll have NPH come out in his underwear but not take a few seconds to honor my brother."

And Taylor's cousin Chuck Negron -- the lead singer of Three Dog Night -- says he was "floored" by the snub and demands some recognition from the Academy.

Conrad really went off, also saying, "They'll let Patricia Arquette go on and on forever but they won't give Taylor the 15 minutes he deserved." We're guessing he meant a few seconds.